Educated at the college of Trequier, St. Nicholas du Chardonnet and the seminary of Issy-les-Moulineaux, where he studied theology, philosophy and rhetoric, Renan became interested in philology. He attended the college of St. Sulpice and subsequently Stanislas college and, while pursuing his degree, decided against a career within the church. His manuscript, General History of Semitic Languages, won the Volney prize in 1847, the year he also received his degree in philology. He then took a position as master in the lycee of Vendome. An avid interest in archaeology led to Renan being the first person to conduct excavations in the Lebanon. At the request of Napoleon III, Renan worked on many sites there, including Tyre, Sidon and Byblos. In 1857, he published Studies in Religious History which was well-received by the critics. In 1863, he published the first volume of his multi-volume work The History of the Origins of Christianity. This first volume, The Life of Jesus, is probably the work that he most remembered for today. In 1869, he was a candidate for the Chamber of Deputies for Meaux, but was not elected. In 1881, the final volume of his History was completed. In 1883, he was elected a director of the College de France and he was also a grand officer of the Legion of Honour. His other works included On the Origins of Language (1858), Prayer on the Acropolis (1865), The Antichrist (1873), The History of Israel (1887-1893) and Recollections of My Youth (1883). |
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